1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a rig movement and rotation assembly. In particular, the present invention is directed to a rig movement and rotation assembly for moving heavy equipment, such as a drilling rig, wherein the assembly will automatically steer or directionally position and move the heavy equipment without any manual intervention.
2. Prior Art
It is sometimes desirable to move a subterranean drilling rig from one location to a nearby location. For example, it is sometimes desirable to move the rig to a nearby location to utilize an alternate well bore. Traditionally, a drilling rig and all of its equipment is brought to a well site and assembled in a “rig up” procedure. After the drilling or other operation is completed, the entire drilling rig and all of its equipment is disassembled in a “rig down” procedure and then moved to a subsequent location.
A number of systems in the past have been utilized to move an entire drilling rig structure without disassembling. One type of system in the past included somewhat primitive rollers and skids that attempted to slide the drilling structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,336 on a Walking Substructure Device illustrates a system with four lifting jacks with jack pads which are each rotatable. The jack pads may be manually rotated and positioned when raised above ground level in a desired radial position. The equipment may then be incrementally displaced thereafter.
Other incremental movement systems are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 8,490,724; U.S. Pat. No. 8,561,733; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0277124. In U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0277124, an incremental movement system is disclosed with a fine tune mechanism to position the load.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, there remains a need to provide a system for incrementally moving heavy equipment in any direction wherein the steering or directional positioning is automatically accomplished without manual intervention.